OPINION
This season has been something of a stop-start affair for Celtic defender Jozo Simunovic, but he was given a lifeline on Tuesday.
Brendan Rodgers confirmed to Radio Clyde reporter Alison Conroy that centre back Dedryck Boyata would miss the next few weeks with a hamstring injury.
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers says Boyata will be out “for the next few weeks” with hamstring injury
— Alison Conroy (@AlisonGConroy) December 4, 2018
With the Belgian set to miss a good chunk of fixtures, it’s imperative that Simunovic takes his chance to get back in Brendan Rodgers’ good books.
The Croatian replaced the former Manchester City man against Aberdeen on Sunday and helped see the Hoops through to their Scottish League Cup triumph against Aberdeen, showing that he is in the driving seat to replace Boyata over the coming weeks.
The 24-year-old has very much dropped out of the reckoning at Parkhead this term, with Boyata and Filip Benkovic taking the lead for the Hoops over the past month or so.
That pair have excelled as Celtic have recovered from a tricky start to the season to reassert their domestic dominance, while Simunovic has taken a back seat.
Some of that has been due to injury, of course, but he also hasn’t been able to break up the Boyata-Benkovic partnership even when he has been fit.
With just three Scottish Premiership appearances this season it is vital that Simunovic performs well in Boyata’s absence in order to save his Celtic career.
With uncertainty over the future of Boyata, and with Benkovic only on loan at the club from Leicester City, there is an opportunity for Simunovic to assert himself as a Parkhead mainstay once again – but only if he regains his best form in the middle of the defence.
It is very much approaching make or break time for the Croat this campaign. His Celtic career has little by little been drifting away, but Boyata’s setback has given him an opportunity to right the ship – let’s see if he takes it.